Encountering Purge resistance and some progress...

[rayinpenn]

I’ve started the long awaited basement purge and clean up. No excuses Ive got three weeks off— It is complicated by the epoxy I got on the floor in my ‘work room” when I built a canoe down there. I’ve scraped up as much as I can and I epoxy paint on a test section of the floor. It looks great and I cant wait to get it done. I don’t know about you but once I start something I get pretty anxious to see it to conclusion. Any opposition is not appreciated.

I suggested to Mrs RayinPenn that the 30 tubes of caulking we have down there were potential purge items. Answer: “Some of those are new”. I thought to myself (being cowardly) that the dust on them would say otherwise. How about some of that paint Answer: “thats the paint we have on the walls”. Again I thought to myself - are we planning on repainting?... Ok those two sections of shelves are hers the rest is going.

A nice Lady just came and bought my old Radio Controlled airplanes. I didn’t care about the money I wanted them gone. Now there’s two mysterious boxes and some fish tank stuff that i think Ill take to curb for the scroungers. I think some of those calk tubes may go the way of Jimmy Hoffa...

Confession Ive got 30 fishing poles down there...Yes I have an addiction.

Oh and by the by that super clean garage still is the bees knees.

 

[brett]

It took us four 'swoops'. We became more vicious each time. We had an advantage since we were working to a hard date.

Still, after several storages, moves, four years on there are items the we are still discarding. This year we put up a Christmas tree for the first time in five years. Found just about everything except that stand cover.

BUT, I was on the verge of discarding my caulking gun five years ago. Glad I did not. Used it last week. Hunted all over and found it in the unused umbrella stand.

 

[kcowan]

We did a major purge in the mid-90s. We were brutal. OTOH I have lots of spare parts in my workshop and I am using one of them right now to change my bathroom light from a halogen to an LED.

When we rent our place in the winter, we do another purge and we are finding it much easier now as we do it for the 10th year. We leave one owner's closet and some under bed drawers.

Ray I have found that you can resurrect caulking at least once by cutting the tube open to get at the soft interior stuff. Used it this fall. Then threw it away. Win-win.

 

[pacergal]

we started purging last year after retirement. It started slow, but we have now become ruthless. We look at our "stuff" and think whether or not our kids would want it after we are gone (most likely no).
Reading Marie Kondo book or watching her videos on extreme home declutter gave me the big push.
DH was a saver/collector but he has become much better at decluttering than I ever imagined.
We are down to about 1 paper bag per month to either garbage or GoodWill, depending on what it is. When we started, it was regularly a large black yard bag!

 

[gayl]

How about some of that paint Answer: “thats the paint we have on the walls”. Again I thought to myself - are we planning on repainting?...

Had to chuckle at that line ..... FINALLY took the paint / epoxy / caulk from my garage to the county recycling center. Containers were rusted shut. Now just have 4 quarts (inside walls & trim, exterior walks & trim)

 

[aja8888]

We don't have a basement so all the junk is in the garage.

 

[FIREd]

Our first major purge had to be brutal because we were relocating for DW's job and we had just a few months to drastically downsize (we were going from a 2,500 sqft house in a low COL area to a 2-bedroom apartment in a high COL area). It forced us to make difficult decisions quickly (none of which we have regretted). When there is no such urgency, it is easier to postpone purging decisions.

By the way, I keep cans of paint that we have on our walls for touch-ups.

 

[brett]

We keep paint if it is currently on the walls. If only for the colour code. We keep some ceramic tiles in case one breaks or cracks. Same with prefinished hardwood flooring. No wallpaper....thankfully.

Energy inefficient Christmas exterior lights will be trashed after Christmas and replaced with newer, better, cheaper product. Extra bulbs and all. Bought the new ones yesterday 70 percent off. Well, not really 70 percent off. 20 percent off the normal selling price of 50 percent off. We are oh so tired of these 50 percent off sales that are not.

 

[brett]

We keep paint if it is currently on the walls. If only for the colour code. We keep some ceramic tiles in case one breaks or cracks. Same with prefinished hardwood flooring. No wallpaper....thankfully.

Energy inefficient Christmas exterior lights will be trashed after Christmas and replaced with newer, better, cheaper product. Extra bulbs and all. Bought the new ones yesterday 70 percent off. Well, not really 70 percent off. 20 percent off the normal selling price of 50 percent off. Hard to buy anything a 'full list' these days.

 

[madsquopper]

When I saw the subject line I thought that it was a misplaced Health and Early Retirement post

 

[Music Lover]

I also only keep paint if it's on the walls. Other paint is given away...one of my friends has rentals and he doesn't care that much about colour as long as it's not obnoxious. He'll often combine 2 or more partial cans to make enough for the required job.

I've also been purging lately...it's amazing how much junk you can accumulate in just the kitchen cupboards.

I also had a "forced purge" of the basement about 3 years ago when I got some water in it...I spent a frantic 3 hours in the middle of the night carrying upstairs 2 full sets of band equipment (PA, drums, amps, etc.), 1200 pound of weights and gym equipment, untold amounts of tools, plus a bunch of rarely used and storage items. After cleanup, I only put a bare minimum of stuff back in the basement.

 

[braumeister]

DW used to force me to keep paint and it was always in sad shape if we ever needed it (which was seldom).

I finally got smart and simply took a picture of the label on the can and also the sticker on the lid showing the exact color coding. I can take that into Home Depot and get a perfect match, buying as little as a quart when touch up is needed.

I also have a file on the laptop showing exactly what paint is on which wall, all over the house.

 

[Music Lover]

A few small jars with good sealing lids are all one needs to keep a bit of paint on hand for touchups. If you leave a gallon of paint with a couple inches on the bottom, it's almost guaranteed to dry up. But, an 8 ounce jar with 4 or 5 ounces in it won't dry up.

 

[Scrapr]

When I saw the subject line I thought that it was a misplaced Health and Early Retirement post

and shouldn't this be in the Stealth Purging thread

<duck & run>

 

[aja8888]

A few small jars with good sealing lids are all one needs to keep a bit of paint on hand for touchups. If you leave a gallon of paint with a couple inches on the bottom, it's almost guaranteed to dry up. But, an 8 ounce jar with 4 or 5 ounces in it won't dry up.

This ^^^^^

 

[Jerry1]

So good to have company. We've been through this like many of you. Started with a move (forced purge) and keeps on going. I've been working on DD. She started this year with a garage sale and was a bit excited but also disheartened with the small amount of progress. I told her that with a good effort, it will take a year. Realistically, it will take a couple years. Just keep at it.

We don't have a basement and was very proud to get one car in the garage for this winter. It has plenty of room to walk around it, so we didn't just squeeze it in. I'll never get two cars in unless we build a shed for the riding lawn mower and other outdoor equipment, but it was a good year and now we're settled in for the winter. We'll hit it again in the spring.

 

[USA]

I had a paid relocation with storage & dragged crap along. Now I’ve had stuff in the attic years. The passing of parents brought on more. The goal is full trash & recycling cans every week as well as the car trunk to charity. I recommend it’s done BEFORE reaching FIRE. Purging interferes with play time.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I belong to 3 forums and you would be surprised at the number of people that resort to stealth purging because their other half will not get rid of stuff.

 

[Amethyst]

I've never quite understood the morality play that people seem to make out of simple tidying up.

Everybody has to tidy up every now and then; it's not that big of a deal.

But according to the Internet, it is the source of debates every bit as major as whether or not to eat certain foods.

 

[Texas Proud]

We keep paint if it is currently on the walls. If only for the colour code. We keep some ceramic tiles in case one breaks or cracks. Same with prefinished hardwood flooring. No wallpaper....thankfully.

Energy inefficient Christmas exterior lights will be trashed after Christmas and replaced with newer, better, cheaper product. Extra bulbs and all. Bought the new ones yesterday 70 percent off. Well, not really 70 percent off. 20 percent off the normal selling price of 50 percent off. We are oh so tired of these 50 percent off sales that are not.

Kinda glad the old owner left all the paint cans in the garage... when contractor was doing work he had to cut holes in 4 different locations that had 4 different colors... we were able to find 3 of the colors but he had to match the 4th......

However, the match was perfect and it has me thinking that we might not need to keep them..... but, DD did scar a wall that I have not looked to see if we have matching paint... so there is that....

 

[Walt34]

BUT, I was on the verge of discarding my caulking gun five years ago. Glad I did not. Used it last week.

This is the very definition of "junk", that being "stuff that lies around for years until you throw it out the week before you need it".

 

[ejman]

Interesting topic. I must admit to reluctance to click on this thread topic as I thought it might have to do with some colonic cleansing....

 

[Souschef]

When DW sold her house that she had lived in for 30 years and relocated to our new 1400 sq ft home, she finally had to get rid of a bunch of stuff. One of the things she got rid of was her son's play pen. He was 38 at that time!
We still have some of her stuff in the garage that has not been looked at since we moved here 10 years ago.
I have asked her about it, and she said her sons would get rid of it after she goes. Sigh

 

[Amethyst]

She might have been thinking "this pen is better quality than what will be available by the time he has kids," and she was probably right!

My Dad died in 1997, at the age of 87, and my elder brother was very pleased to get his old tools. Even the electric drill from...oh...1950 or so. Heavy, solid-metal sucker.

Even though I was only a daughter, and therefore seen as not entitled to tools (and somehow unseemly even to be interested in them), I somehow managed to snag a set of Dad's drop-forged steel socket wrenches that have proven very useful; they don't snap under pressure the way modern crummy Chinese aluminum ones do.

One of the things she got rid of was her son's play pen. He was 38 at that time!

 

[Luck_Club]

We still have some of her stuff in the garage that has not been looked at since we moved here 10 years ago.
I have asked her about it, and she said her sons would get rid of it after she goes. Sigh

Purged my fathers house this past summer to put it on the market. It is 12 hours each way so only had 1 shot at getting it right. DW & I went through every jam packed room searching for the mementos we though he would most enjoy. Packed up a minivan with about 10 boxes. Put them on his porch in July, and said work your way through them. Haven't been touched. But I'm so horrible for getting rid of all his stuff.

DW and I have sworn an oath we wouldn't leave our kids a big pile of crap to wade through after our death. It'll be a simple portfolio of assets, 1 cup, plate, bowl, spoon, fork & knife.